hi all just want to check if i'm going to need to get a waiver, i havent even started any papers yet with my fiance but i have been reading alot and i tend be paranoid so anyways, I'm the Canadian and about 14yrs ago was was charged for shoplifting i cant remember exact cost but was under 80$ i was 20, well anyways i got a nice judge and said that all records would be destroyed and i didnt even get a fine if i didnt get into any trouble i cant remember if it was 6mos or a year i sorta put it behind me and never thought about it since now i know i dont have a record since i have had a background and RCMP record check before since i was going to school to be a nurse so it was done as part of my schooling, so anyways i know i have to say yes when it askes me of any crimes and what not but im worried that since it is considered to be a CMT that i will have to get a waiver. thanks for any advice about this.

Do you know if you were actually convicted and does this conviction appear on your police record? I can't quite tell if you meant you'd actually seen your police record or if only the school did. My husband took a teacher training course in the UK and they needed his subject access police report. We thought it was clear because they didn't mention anything about it to him. When he obtained another police report for immigration purposes, a petty offense he'd committed in his late teens was on his record as a conviction and fine though he hadn't recalled even being charged.

Regardless, if it is a conviction for shoplifting, which is a CiMT, you might qualify under the petty exception clause and not need to file a waiver. If the maximum sentence possible for the crime you were convicted of is less than a year and the actual sentence imposed is less than six months, you are not ineligible to receive a visa. I think your particular offense has a max sentence of six months in Canada, but you may want to look into that more.

(In Canada) Theft Under $5000 and is a hybrid offence, meaning that it can be treated either as an indictable offence or a less serious summary conviction offence, depending on the choice of the prosecutor. If dealt with as an indictable offence Theft Under $5000 is punishable by imprisonment for not more than 2 years and, if treated as a summary conviction offence, 6 months imprisonment, a fine of $2000 or both. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theft

There's some debate about what the term "maximum possible sentence" means. Immigration attorney Laurel Scott has told me it means the maximum sentence possible under the terms of the particular charge you faced. This is an important distinction because the maximum possible sentence for "theft" in general in Canada is 10 years, but that's only when the property stolen is valued above $5000. It seems likely that the prosecutor would have charged you with a summary offense where the max sentence would have been 6 months and/or a fine.

Of course, the preceding ramble is only my opinion, which is mostly based on my attorney's opinion. I personally don't think you'll need to file a waiver.

I'll shut up now.

I have actually seen my record a number of times every year i was in school i had to go get a new name check and rcmp check done the school just wanted to see it after we got them before any placements could be given to the students so i got to read it myself, as for actually getting convicted im pretty sure but it seems to be so long ago i cant remember what all i was told by the judge other then all records at the court house and police would be destroyed. i just tend to think the worse of things and get really confused by all the legal stuff i have read. thanks for the help.